Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am being parochial, but it is important that Cork Airport would be added to the existing regional airports OPEX scheme because it has been excluded up to now. I agree with Senator Dooley that connectivity is critical. If one looks at the potential of Ryanair in terms of Cork Airport, 80% of the flights are gone. That is 100 jobs between pilots and cabin crew. This is an ongoing issue on which we need to have continual debates. This is about safe connectivity and about us being innovative and bold as we always have been in aviation. Whether it is aeroplane leasing, flying the Atlantic or Ryanair with Michael O'Leary, we have been innovative.